After finishing .01 seconds off the pool record in the 100-yard butterfly during her last attempt on Oct. 8, Kansas University freshman Ashley Leidigh’s goal was to set the record Friday night against No. 20 Missouri.
Mission accomplished.
Leidigh beat the previous pool record of 55.52 by over a half a second, winning the race with a time of 55 seconds flat.
“I actually didn’t feel very good,” Leidigh said of what she thought her chances were of breaking the record as she swam the final stretch. “When I touched the wall and looked up, I realized that I had gotten it. It feels good. It was exciting.”
Not only Leidigh had a special day Friday — so did the entire Kansas team. For the first time in six years, the Jayhawks beat Missouri.
They led from start to finish, winning in convincing fashion by a team score of 175 points to 125.
“It was a pretty big win for us,” KU coach Clark Campbell said. “Ever since I have been here, we have never beaten Missouri. They were ranked 20th in the latest poll, and we haven’t beaten a ranked opponent in a dual meet since I have been here, either, so it was a huge win for the program.”
The Jayhawks set the tone early by winning the first race of the evening, the 200-yard medley relay. Jenny Short, Danielle Hermann, Kindsey Urbatchka and Terri Schramka combined for the winning time of 1:45.68.
They earned 11 points for the victory, giving Kansas a lead that it didn’t lose the rest of the night. Short backed up her effort with another victory in the 100-yard backstroke. She finished in 57.68.
Leidigh also won the 200-yard butterfly and swam the opening leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay to help the Jayhawks win the race with a time of 3:29. The other members of the relay team were Schramka, Gina Gnatzig and Molly Brammer.
“We had some unreal performances from top to bottom tonight,” Campbell said.